The ACT had the largest percentage growth in the number of businesses in any state or territory in the 2020–21 financial year: a 5.8 per cent increase, with an increase of 1,732 to 31,499 total, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data.

But while the ACT had the highest rate of new business start-ups of any state or territory, it also had the highest rate of closures / exits, statistical data for the last financial year shows.

More than 5,000 businesses started in the ACT in the 2020-2021 financial year, but almost 3,900 closed in the same year.

“That’s a lot of start-ups, but potentially a lot of unnecessary closures and a huge amount of lost money, energy, and jobs,” said Graham Catt, CEO of the Canberra Business Chamber. “We need to get better at ensuring the long-term survival of businesses.”

Despite the impact of Covid and natural disasters, ABS data shows the local business population grew by almost 1,700 over the previous year, and 31,499 businesses actively traded at the end of the last financial year. That growth was led by small businesses employing fewer than 20 people.

“Canberra’s entrepreneurial spirit is strong,” Mr Catt said. “That’s the highest number of businesses ever in our city, and those businesses now provide around 64 per cent of the ACT’s jobs.

“Our economic future lies in the private sector, and in effect, the ACT economy over time is becoming more and more reliant on small business for our job and wealth creation.”

Since the ACT Government published its original Statement of Ambition in 2016, the ACT’s new economic plan (published today) states, Canberra’s population has grown by 29,000 more people; unemployment has fallen by 0.6 per cent; nearly 23,000 jobs have been created; the economy has grown by 20 per cent; and 5,350 new businesses started.